Superstar (boyxboy)

Chapter 18: Waves

"Mr. Clifford, you're on in ten minutes," one of the producers in the backstage told Matthew, who sat on the couch of their guest room, looking everything but excited.

He nodded in understanding and replied in a monotone, "Okay, thank you."

He released a heavy sigh once the producer left and propped his elbows against his knees so he could lean his head on the back of his hands. He racked his brain for any ideas on how he could answer the questions the show has prepared for him, because in one way or another, he knew that the very question that brought him here was going to be asked whether he liked it or not.

"I'm leaving it up to you how to handle this," Tyler said, breaking the tension in the atmosphere of the room. He has calmed himself down from the outburst he had earlier. "Whether you decide to tell the whole world the truth or not, it's your decision. Just remember that it's not just you in the pedestal of whatever the outcome might be."

He was seated on the stool in front of a mirror, shaking his head a little bit and sighing a lot for the past few minutes. Prince has been silent ever since they left the penthouse, and it felt so out of character because he was usually the second most talkative among the three of them.

And by now, he would have teamed up with Matthew to annoy the hell out of Tyler. But since Tyler was already annoyed to the highest level, he thought it was better to keep his mouth shut, given how he has managed to put Matthew on the spot today.

Matthew didn't reply anything to his manager as he felt that anything that would come out of his mouth, Tyler would still find fault in it and blame him for stupidity. Instead, he found himself thinking of a certain handsome young musician by the name of Carl Wyatt, again.

And without so much of a fraction of a second, a smile broke out on his face, his lips curving and his eyes wrinkling of the mere thought of the musician. He thought of those warm almond eyes that he could almost drown himself in it when Carl stared at him, that sweet and charming smile that he loved and kept those butterflies in his stomach churning in the best way, and that passion and love he was showing when it came to writing and singing music. How could he forget?

This didn't go unnoticed by his manager and assistant manager that was in the same room as him. Prince smiled a little because one look at Matthew's smiling face, he knew what it meant—Carl was in his mind, and somehow, he felt that there was a glimmer of hope of whatever Matthew planned to say.

Tyler's reaction to it surprised Prince as his face eased all of his worries when the assistant manager saw him with a soft smile present on his usually scowling face. He got even more surprised of what came out of Tyler's lips when he decided to break the silence.

"You know," he started to say, and it snapped Matthew back into reality and caught his and Prince's attention as they looked at him in question. "This isn't a personal attack, kid. Whatever your sexuality is, it doesn't change that I still love you.

I'm, well so to say, happy that you actually found someone to make you happy. I may not show it as much as I need to, but seeing you and Carl, it just—I don't know, really makes me proud of how far you've come in your life. But I do have to remind you that yours and Carl's career are at stake here.

"Not everyone can support you both the way we do—not everyone will like that kind of lifestyle. I'm sure you both know that. No matter how much we'll try to reassure you, it's going to be hard getting back up once the truth gets out there. The consequences on you both will be rough—especially Carl, seeing as he's somewhat new to the scene.

"You know how hard it was for you, for each one of your scandals. And no, I'm not saying you can't fight for what you believe—because you can, and we'll be there with you. But I can't assure you that it's easy," Tyler finished saying, his face on a serious expression as his brows furrowed despite the small smile on his lips.